The Price Is Right For Ohmori Co.,Ltd. (TSE:1844) Even After Diving 26%

The Ohmori Co.,Ltd. (TSE:1844) share price has softened a substantial 26% over the previous 30 days, handing back much of the gains the stock has made lately. The good news is that in the last year, the stock has shone bright like a diamond, gaining 185%.

Although its price has dipped substantially, OhmoriLtd's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 22.2x might still make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in Japan, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 14x and even P/E's below 10x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

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OhmoriLtd has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings at a solid pace. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think this respectable earnings growth will be enough to outperform the broader market in the near future. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Check out our latest analysis for OhmoriLtd

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on OhmoriLtd's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like OhmoriLtd's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 22%. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 63% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Comparing that to the market, which is only predicted to deliver 11% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

With this information, we can see why OhmoriLtd is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Presumably shareholders aren't keen to offload something they believe will continue to outmanoeuvre the bourse.

What We Can Learn From OhmoriLtd's P/E?

Even after such a strong price drop, OhmoriLtd's P/E still exceeds the rest of the market significantly. While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of OhmoriLtd revealed its three-year earnings trends are contributing to its high P/E, given they look better than current market expectations. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. Unless the recent medium-term conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for OhmoriLtd (of which 2 are significant!) you should know about.

You might be able to find a better investment than OhmoriLtd. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.